Horticulture Provides Opportunities for Growth

Throughout my 2 and half years as the Horticulture Specialist I’ve had a student that has shown immense growth, determination and dedication to the program. He is very interested in Horticulture and Nature and wants to pursue a career in that path. Because of his constant dedication, he was given the opportunity to assist with teaching a recycling class for two full days at the Ontario County Conservation Days run by the Ontario County Soil and Water District and the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

On September 13th and 14th our days were spent at the Ontario County 4-H Camp Bristol Hills on Kear rd, Bristol NY. Eric assisted in teaching 6th graders from the Canandaigua, Bloomfield, Marcus Whitman, Honeoye and Naples school district about recycling. Classes ran for 20 minutes throughout the entire day. Eric was in charge of facilitating an interactive game on recycling and showing a facsimile of a landfill to the kids. He took his responsibilities very seriously and was extremely professional in his execution. The kids listened well to Eric and enjoyed interacting with him, he was a natural!

After our two full days of teaching, Eric and I discussed how he could use this opportunity in his personal and professional life. Eric wants to put this experience on his resume as experience. He feels more confident interacting in larger groups and with kids. He said this was a positive experience for him and would love to teach more classes in the future!

A few of our Pet Connections therapy dog teams spent Valentine's Day at the University of Rochester helping students, staff, and faculty de-stress! ...

Nearly 150 students, faculty, and staff stopped by to visit with our 5 therapy dog teams yesterday at the University of Rochester de-stress event! 🐕
One faculty member was running from giving one midterm before heading to another when she paused to pet Albert and stated, “ah, instant stress relief right there!”
Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and learn more about Pet Connections! By the end of the day, all the dogs were ready for much-deserved naps!